Ways to help protect your teen while they’re on the road

Whenever a teenager gets behind the wheel, whether while on their learner’s permit or in the time after they’ve received their license, they’re taking on a big responsibility. And as a parent, you want to do whatever you can to ensure that they stay safe during their travels as they gain valuable hours of driving experience.

What precautions can you take to help keep them safe on the road? Here are a few safety features you may want to look into including in a vehicle that your teen is going to be taking for spins.

Customizable built-in monitors and governors

In the process of learning how to drive, your teen has no doubt been taught ways to avoid distractions while driving. They’ve also been urged to remember that the rules and laws of the road exist for a reason, and that they should follow them.

But as a teenager with the newfound freedom of being behind the wheel, it can be tempting to test out a vehicle’s speed, or blast the music a little bit too loud. Luckily, several vehicle manufacturers offer features that enable you to set speed limits or speed warnings, along with stereo volume maximums. They also allow you set up seatbelt and other safety warnings. Some models even generate reports, so you can monitor how fast and far your teen is going, and how often they’re setting off warnings.

Vision improvement and assistance technology

Many fender benders that teen drivers are responsible for come as a result of vision issues. Most vehicles have some sort of blind spot, and it can be difficult to see just exactly what’s behind you at all times. Putting your teen in a vehicle that has rearview cameras and rear cross traffic alert capabilities will help them always make sure they’re backing up into a clear area, and won’t bump into any cars or other objects. Additionally, while it’s important your teen learns how to parallel park on their own, a vehicle that features a parallel parking assistance system might make their lives a lot easier.

Telematics systems

Accidents can and do happen, and it’s best to be prepared to react to them as quickly and efficiently as possible. Telematics help with this in a big way. These systems combine GPS and diagnostic systems to keep tabs on where your vehicle is and detect any issues it might be having, but the most valuable aspect when you have a teen behind the wheel may be their automatic crash notifications. If your teen has been in a crash, the system immediately notifies a help center. The help center then sends emergency response to the scene. It’s the fastest way to get help in an unfortunate situation, especially if the driver and passengers aren’t able to call for help themselves.

Automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems

If your teen gets distracted or sees something happening ahead of them that they’re unable to react to in time to prevent a collision, automatic emergency braking does exactly what it sounds like: It puts the breaks on for your teen, effectively avoiding impact or at least lessening its force. Many vehicles also send out audible warnings whenever the driver is too close to the car ahead of them and needs to either back off or hit the brakes.

As a parent, you’re always going to be worried about your teen when they’re driving — but with the proper amount of trust, education and helpful features, you’ll be able to take comfort in the fact that they’re equipped with everything they need to stay safe.

Members of the editorial and news staff of the USA Today Network were not involved in the creation of this content.